Dancing with the Stars Season 24 Cast Announcement – LIVE BLOG
Well, here we go…with what, at first blush, appears to be the most jacked up season in DWTS history…and not in a good way. We’ve got one professional dancer and countless other female ringers. If you’re a female pro on this show…I’m sorry. Do good choreo – you women have a better shot at an Emmy than your male counterparts do.
Anyway, this first hour is likely to be news, etc. The GMA fluff, including DWTS cast announcement is usually sometime in the second hour. Well, for GMA the fluff starts much earlier, but the DWTS stuff probably won’t happen until after 8 pm eastern.
Oy veh…they’ve already started with the “I pity the fool…” and other hints, supposedly corresponding to the people below…
The blatant pimping of Val, Maks AND Peta begins. Nauseating. And when will Maks and Val learn then aren’t actually funny? Like, at all?
Ginger, you were overhyped when you were on DWTS…and I don’t need you on my TV now.
Man, we are so going to miss the Hough-Ballas contingent to keep this show from going into the toilet.
Here we go….Tiny Tom next to the GMA giants…
Nancy Kerrigan and Artem
Chris Kattan and Witney
Mr. T and Kym
Simone Biles and Sasha (!!!)
Rashad Jennings and Emma (!!)
David Ross and Lindsay
Heather Morris and Maks
Charo and Keo
Erika Jane and Gleb
Normani Kordei and Val
Bonner Bolton and Sharna
They went through that so fast that I saw none of it and had to follow Court on twitter. LOL.
Okay, Sasha and Emma are being given a huge shot here…about time. Let’s see what they can do!
Wow they actually mentioned that Heather danced with Beyonce!! But then Heather went with the “Ballroom is very different” line.
And here we go with the Chmer-clan bullshit. :::rolls eyes:::
Tom: Well we have plenty of bull on dancing with the stars – truer words were never said. Anyway, I can see why Sharna blushed around him…he’s CUTE that Bonner.
Ohhhh…booo hooo…poor Val having to travel.
NOTE: Male pros sitting with their partners down in front…all the women STANDING in the back. But this show isn’t sexist at all.
OMG…how much do I love Charo?? Very, very much. LOL
Ya know… People Magazine published Nick as a contestant with Peta. Not sure why GMA is being so dramatic.
Heh. They FINALLY give Sasha a ringer….and still manage to give Maks an even bigger ringer. I love Emma, but I’m hoping for Sasha/Simone domination.
That’s it, I’m out and off to work.
Bachelor Nation, are you ready to see @viallnicholas28 embark on a new journey with @PetaMurgatroyd to win the Mirrorball Trophy?
?#DWTS pic.twitter.com/H9wN1L72ep— Official DWTS (@DancingABC) March 1, 2017
Awake but barely so I missed the I pity the fool thing because I was refilling the kuerig….actually walked in to see the VP lol
And the pimpage continues.. Did Tom say, Peta, Maks, and Val all back? What’s Kym chopped liver?
Good opening number. Ginger seemed very happy lol. Couldn’t keep my eyes Off kym though when they were all together. So glad to see her back. Also, who is the new guy?
Im happy Artem has a good partner. I hope he returns to the Artem we saw with Kara and Natalie on strictly
They should just rename the show Dancing with Val and Maks. The pimpage is real.
Its no wonder Val and Maks feel entitled. In this DWTS world their names are tossed around like royalty. Now if only their choreography lived up to all the hype. Of which it does not.
It’s sad. It’s as if the other Pros are just nothing.
Emma got Rashad!!! WOOHOO!!
So, Hayley in troupe (which yes, I LOVE the representation!) means no Hayley on Move? Was that not gonna happen either way?
(Yes, their relationship turns me in to a 13 year old fan girl. Well and the fact that in real life I am getting gas station roses for Valentine’s Day. Lol)
I want Heather Morris to do the show…just not with you know who.
Simone and Sasha though, yes!!! That’s a dream come true.
Have to say there are a few names here I don’t recognise.
What about Peta?
Sigh…. I was hoping I’d get to meet Hayley E. at Move next month ?
She’s in the People Mag article as dancing with Nick Viall. Not sure why GMA is being dramatic.
Yeah, Beck, Derek and Jules already said they have all new supporting dancers because all of their other dancers are “very successful”.
But why do the Chmerkovskiy bros have the same pose with their partners in the promo shoot??
Just based on first impressions my favorites so far are Nancy & Artem, Rashad & Emma, Simone & Sasha and Normani & Val.
I could see Rashad being the one good male dancer this season and I’m so happy he’s with Emma 🙂
I’m really liking this cast. They were just cracking me up on GMA. Very entertaining and I’m looking forward to some great dancing. I just wish and hope somehow they will have Mark and Derek come back for some Pro Numbers to make it all complete.
My favorites so far….. Simone & Sasha & Mr. T & Kym. I find it funny all the people who yell “Derek always gets a good partner!” Have nothing to say about Val. Off the top of my head I can’t name one time he’s had a “bad partner”.
Really going to miss the Ballas/Hough this season. That being said Maks and Val got such pimping this season it is going to be hard to watch. I don’t really know who to root for yet but hopefully this season will be a good one!
One word….CHARO!!! She’s still as zany as ever!! I hope she lasts a while! I’m so thrilled about the Sasha/ Simone pairing. And I’m also strangely happy about Nancy and Artem. Of course I love T with Kym! Let the games begin and just ignore the Fam!!
Won’t be watching this season. I just can’t bear the thought of the judges ripping into Simone for no reason while pimping the C-Bros to high heavens.
Anyway, Chris and David – you’d better get your skates on ’cause you’re both in line for the first boot in my opinion.
I just watched the cast announcement again. Ya know….Heather might be a ringiest ever, but, she sure doesn’t have the likability factor (imo).
Is the new Troupe member Brandon Lu? Thank you!
Gosh, I’m gonna miss Hough-Ballas clan. 🙁
We’re gonna get a lot of great dancing this season (I’m expecting it from Normani, Simone and Heather). Speaking of Heather, I’m SHOCKED that she is in the cast. I think it’s totally unfair and disrespectful to other contestants. She’s a freaking professional dancer! And please, don’t start with “ballroom is different” crap, because Allison and Hayley also weren’t trained in ballroom dancing originally, yet could learn it pretty quickly, because hello, they are pros.
Anyway, I think that Rashad (yes Emma!!!) and Nick (I think he’s got good moves) can suprise us.
I hope Sasha will step up his game and really give Simone some good choreo. This is probably the best chance at MBT he’ll get 😉 The only concern…will America vote for two gymnast in the row? Simone is a total sweatheart and I hope she’ll be able to win them over, I really want Sasha to get MBT 🙂
My favorites so far: Sasha & Simone, Rashad & Emma, Nick & Peta. I like Normani too, but can’t stand her pro, so…sorry Normani 😉
All this time I had the Fifth Harmony girl wrong. I thought they got the tiny one that’s left, I don’t know their names, but I do know their faces. Turns out they got another one, and it’s one of the better girls in the group. I had zero faith on this pairing, but things are looking better now.
Heather Morris is confirmed, that’s just ridiculous. Let’s see how this goes.
Glad to see Simone confirmed for Sasha, hopefully this means Sasha goes very far, but with the quite obvious pimping they’ll do for Val Maks and now Peta, who knows how this goes.
Another season without Mark? That’s just sad.
Simone is definitely the biggest name and best get of the women, so it will be interesting how hard they continue to pimp Maks, Val and (to a much lesser extent) Peta. I think Peta might even get more promo because she’s dancing with ABC Family. The producers have a real struggle on their hands..wouldn’t it be nice if they just let go and let the show evolve organically??
love them all except for normani (boring) and I’m iffy on Bonner to be honest. He seems like a nice guy like genuinely nice but he doesn’t exactly scream fun yet.
And heather (and I’m a big Gleek) annoyed me all together. She isn’t exactly exciting this morning at all and reminds me of brandy in that sense
#26 – Wouldn’t that be a novel concept – Let the show evolve organically. How radical!! From your mouth Miss Heidi to TPTB’s ears!
#22 – Miss Vogue – I agree with you about likability factor. I’m not feeling her either….
I’m actually really looking forward to this season, ringers included! I get much more excited about a talented cast of stars like this than a cast where you can basically predict which 5 or 6 stars are going to be eliminated in the first half of the season. Keeps it competitive and fun to watch!
@Vin – FWIW, Bonner today reminded me a lot of Alek at the cast announcement in season 21 – just a bit overwhelmed and out of his element. And we saw how Alek blossomed – I think Bonner will be a similar case. Heck, even Noah seemed a bit awkward at the cast announcement in his season.
The only thing making me really happy about this season is Sasha with Simone and Emma with Rashad. I hope their choreo is great and their positive light will help counteract any C bro clan/producer drama.
I hope Sharna, Witney and Lindsay have good partnerships and do well this season. Always glad to see Kym too!
Glad to see Nancy as a huge skating fan but sorry she’s with Artem. Hoping his choreo can be better than in the past for her. He’s never really gelled with any of his pros on US DWTS to me though. I liked Patti but it still wasn’t really that I loved Patti & Artem….just Patti. Not sure who I would have wanted with Nancy pro wise though.
Really not looking forward to them pimping Val and Maks and the ‘drama’ of Maks and Peta competing. At least Maks can’t do a showmance this time. He is really going to have to step up his game too without the showmance to rely on that somewhat masked for certain fans how he failed Meryl choreo-wise.
I agree that this is the most lopsided cast we’ve seen (as far as the women celebrities having a lot more talent potential than the men), and I’m guessing that means that there will probably be some manipulation so we don’t end up at week 7 with 1 man and 5 women left. My prediction is that Nancy will be the person screwed over by this. Between having Artem as a partner (not one of the pros with a large fanbase and hasn’t shown himself to be all that great choreographically) and being a person whose claim to fame was years ago, I think she was already kind of predisposed to being the one who gets screwed. Combine that with the producers’ pimping of Maks, Val, and Peta, and I’m guessing she’ll get the Marilu treatment (not awesome packages, little screen time, little All Access time), and I think she could very well be perfectly set up to be the “shocking elimination” in weeks 5-7. I hope I’m wrong because I love Nancy and want to see her do well, but I think it’s unlikely that the producers will be fair to her.
I still can’t get over the fact that they finally give Sasha (and Emma) a contender and they still manage to give Maks a BIGGER ringer in a professional dancer. Unbelievable.
@Princess Heidi Ugh, I feel the same way. Perhaps this is just too much optimism on my part, but I’m hopeful that Simone will be able to edge out Heather because she is both a bigger celebrity who likely has a bigger fanbase, and she is probably more endearing and likable.
Musicfan12 elizabeta cannilis and Sherri shepherd were Val’s first two partners…they were not good at all
Man I thought with Rob Wade gone, the whole pimping of the C-Bros would go with him. Nope. Not even a little bit. At least Derek’s popularity came well earned. He is so talented and knew how to bring out the best in ALL of his partners, good and bad. He didn’t phone anything in. He didn’t crave for attention.
Val and Maks only skate by through major pimpage or ringers. It seriously annoys me. Maks knows it too, I’m sure, especially this season.
It’s kind of hard to imagine Heather not catching on to ballroom dancing easily. You commenters are right, she hails from the same training background as Allison and Hayley and those two have adapted well. If anything, Maks’ choreo will be her downfall. He is so mediocre it’s not even funny.
I got the same feeling from Bonner too. He seems rather shy right now but I have no doubt it’s probably because he is way out of his element. Let’s hope Sharna can work her magic again. I’m pushing for her so much! They are a beautiful couple though, lol. I wouldn’t be surprised if the showmance some people are claiming they’ll put on will turn into something real. Why not?!
I can expect to see lots of trick-filled routines from Simone and Sasha, lol. They’re cute!
Is it bad that I’m hoping all that travel will cause an early Val exit?
They’ve set Keo & Kym up for early departures.
Heather Morris is a ringer in experience but her only shot to win is if she choreographs her own dances.
so happy for Sasha!! But since the rigging of the results is so clear will TPTB really have 2 gymnasts win back to back?
My favs: Sasha & Simone, Emma & Rashad and for purely fun factor: Chris & Witney (hoping for a Night at the Roxbury theme dance)
Can’t lie I really don’t know if I want to watch a season without Derek or Mark. The only thing that makes me happy are the other pros that aren’t part of the “FAM”. So very happy for Sasha to get such a fabulous partner. Having said that,I really wish it was the fall season, I don’t think this show’s hardcore voters want another gymnast so soon. While I believe that America loves Simone, she has a lot more serious competition than Laurie did. Combine that with voters that don’t want two back to back gymnast and the blatant pimping of the producers, she may not even make top three. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure they want the final 3 triangle of Maks, Val & Peta. With the win to Maks so all three have 2 MBT’s. Then the producers work that angle for season 25.
Just completely my thoughts as of now,
First round out, Witney, Kim then Keo.
I will not be able to stomach Maks/Val/Peta being shoved in my face all season. @Priscilla I agree with you, just change the title of the show and hand it over to them. I can deal with Peta, but Maks and Val, no. I look at the fact that they are pimped and given ringers all the time because deep down TPTB know they’re not good. Bad choreography and lots of time wasting. And the judges know it too, but do what they’re told. There are so many dancers out there, give two others a shot and see what they can do.
I was really hoping Mark would be back, that maybe he and Derek were going to do alternate seasons. Their dancing will be greatly missed.
I can’t even think of a Maks/Val/Peta finals. If that happens, I think the show will lose more viewers than what TPTB have already lost. Want to be real blatant about one of them winning that’s the way to do it. I don’t think I would be alone in not watching the finals and walking away from future seasons.
I’m rooting for Simone/Sasha and Rashad/Emma. I’m hoping that having Laurie on last season won’t hurt Simone. To me, she’s just as likable and if she can dance like Laurie did, she deserves to go far.
At the start of each season, I keep hoping for the best. I know I’ll be disappointed again, and very early, probably premier night.
I am really going to miss Mark and Derek this season! That being said, I am pretty pumped about the cast this season. I’m not the biggest Maks and Val fan, but I am very excited about Maks and Heather. I loved her on Glee and I am excited to see what she can do. I also love Nick Viall as The Bachelor, and having Peta as his partner will hopefully really help him and I hope that he goes far. I’m not the biggest fan of Erika on Housewives, so I doubt that I will like her on here either. She already thinks that she’s a famous singer, and I had never heard of her till she joined RHOBH last year. I’m hoping that Bonner is good for Sharna, cause I was really hoping she would win last season. All and all I think that it is going to be a good season.
Unbelievable. GMA is just as bad as Rob Wade or other producers on ABC. They mention Peta, Maks and Val in the promo. I can understand Peta and Maks because they made the news lately with the baby but why Val? He didn’t have a baby and he’s not returning to the show. He’s been back! Kym is the one who returns to the show and they don’t even mention her. ABC is clearly trying to sway fans to pay attention to Val, Maks and Peta and ignore everyone else so fans will vote for one of those 3. I don’t mind if Val, Maks or Peta gets the votes if they earn it with their partners but we haven’t seen any dancing yet and they’re already trying to hand the MBT to one of them. I don’t think Rob Wade is the only “bad” guy on ABC. ABC needs all new producers and executives. Poor Kym. She’s back and they don’t even care one bit. I just hope the voters figure out what the tptb are really up to and vote based on that.
Ok moving on….now maybe people will stop complaining about Emma always getting the old and clumsy ones.
Charo is really, really funny! Even if she has two left feet, she could help Keo last a bit longer than most may expect with that personality. Maybe that’ll give Keo more time to help her improve if she does have two left feet. I kinda thought Artem would get Charo because he gets the older ones besides Tony (usually). Maybe she was too much fun for him haha.
David Ross is with Lindsay. I could be wrong but that is her oldest partner so this should be interesting. I’m not that concerned because Lindsay has always done well on the show.
Bonner with Sharna. I’ve looked up his photos and he just never smiles really! So I looked him up on youtube and I can hardly find any interviews or anything with him. I found one interview with him and I think he’s pretty reserved and kinda shy, maybe. He’s definitely not shy about his 6 pack abs! Now we all know why Sharna was blushing in the short video. 😉 I agree with someone here, he could be kind of like Alek but with so many great competitors on the show, I have no idea what place they’ll be in.
I’ll tell you what. I like Chris as an comedian and on SNL better. I’m not too crazy about him right now but he has Witney and she’s a really good choreographer. As a teacher, a good one too, I guess. You can’t change personality so I’m curious how far they’ll go.
I don’t follow the gymnastics or the Olympics even that closely so I don’t know about Simone’s personality that much. After seeing her talk on GMA, I feel like she may be a bit shy or maybe just quieter than Laurie. I dunno.
Personality-wise, I think this cast has a lot of fun and interesting people. With so many dancers, I do wonder if we’ll see something like season 17, when Jack, Bill, and Leah outlasted dancers like Christina and Elizabeth.
Who I loved:
1. David and Lindsay- Like I said earlier- I’ve been watching since season 4 and I’ve never been more excited for a celeb. I’m thrilled he’s with Lindsay and I so excited for them.
2. Rashad and Emma- He looks like he has moves. If a male wins, my early money would be on them. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Emma’s choreo is like with a “good” partner.
3. Mr T and Kym- I love contestants that may not be the best but look like they are going to have fun and give it everything.
4. Simone and Sasha- She looks so happy for the experience and her and Sasha looked comfortable together
Who I’m intrigued by:
1. Bonner and Sharna- I think Courtney said it somewhere, but he reminded me of Alek as well. Someone who is probably not used to this type of situation. He did look stiff, though
2. Nancy and Artem- From what I remember about Nancy, she is a pretty closed off person, emotionally- so I’m not sure if Artem was the best pick. But I like Artem’s ballroom style, and I think she could excel at that.
side notes- I can’t believe they spent so much time on three specific pros, and really didn’t even bother to talk up Kym- who just came back. That’s annoying. Also, I have nothing against Heather, but I don’t see the difference between casting her and casting someone like Hayley as a celeb. It’s just unfair.
FWIW, re: Bonner, he seems much more outgoing on his Instagram stories. He keeps calling Sharna “m’lady.”
Keo is gonna have a blast with Charo regardless of her age. I hope people complaining about Keo getting the short end of the stick realize that. She’s not gonna be Chaka Khan 2.0.
I know it’s petty, but as a Pirates fan I just can’t with David Ross right now. He will definitely change my mind when the show starts, I’m sure.
Everyone else seems to be varying degrees of interesting to me to just…there.
I love Kym and Mr.T Mr. Personality and something fun about them. Neither of them have a huge following but Kym’s real life love story and shark – these guys get the “tommy chong” nostaligia vote.
Val and 5H girl – Fine (big following)
Heather and Maks- Fine (glee following)
Nick and Peta – Fine … This audience only has so much tolerance for bachelors
Nancy and Artem – I love this
Erika and Glem … This audience has a low tolerance for housewives..
MLB and Lindsay … This will be interesting
Bonner and sharna … She always gets these guys – Another James. I hope they give him a Paso early.
NFL and Emma … NFL doesn’t always equal ability
Charo and Keo – So there’s this
Simone and Sasha.. Like we didn’t see this one coming…
All together though, I think this will be a really fun season.
#CM I’m a buccos fan too!
@Sandy I watch gymnastics a fair amount, and Simone is not a shy person at all. I think her quietness this morning may be more of a humility thing. For the last 3 years, Simone has been the it girl of USA gymnastics, and she often gets all the attention, even when others are equally deserving of attention. Simone seems to be really conscious of that and actively try to ensure that others are not ignored. For example, when she went to watch her Olympic teammates compete in college gymnastics, they interviewed Simone and her teammates together after the competition. The interviewer was kind of gushing over Simone (who had been a spectator) and ignoring the girls who competed, and Simone gently shifted the attention back to her Olympic teammates who had been competing. I think you’ll see her bubbly, outgoing personality more when the show starts.
Feel like they’re trying to set up a Simone, Normani, Heather final three. I think Nick Viall will last a lot longer than people want him to. He’ll get pimped because he has Peta for a partner and for some reason Bachelor nation will vote for him even though he’s a jerk.
m (47), oh that’s cool and good to know. Thanks! 🙂
Mr.T and Kym wow there couldn’t have been a better pairing besides them and Simone Biles and Sasha
Charo, well i do appreciate her, and she can be a diva a bit, so hopefully she can use that on the dance floor to her advantage
my faves, Mr.T & Kym, Simone & Sasha, Nick & Peta
Whose call was it to play up Val and Maks like that on GMA? Sheesh. I’d hoped the pimping of those two would end with Rob Wade’s exit. They ain’t all that. With Mark and Derek gone, the shows greatest assets are the female pro dancers – they are much stronger than the pro men.
At first I was like Heather Morris? wtf w Maks? WTF but then I saw Normani who cancels her out. Simone, maybe Nancy cancel each other out. So its kinda fair. Idk how the baseball guy will do but Rashad might do very well and the ladies love him. Bonner is cute and has Sharna, an excellent coach. I hope Keo makes it past week 2. Nick and Peta will be interesting. This is ht HARDEST season to call because it will be a bloodbath to the end.
So, I watch Chicago Med and have been seeing a lot of DWTS tweets because one of the stars of the show is dating Artem. Well, one of the stars (Patti Murin) had the most brilliant take down of the argument that Heather doesn’t have an unfair advantage because ballroom is so different. Her response: “That’s like saying I had to unlearn everything I learned in theatre before acting on TV. #DWTS” Obviously, not a 100% perfect comparisons, but it’s one of the most succinct ways I’ve seen to debunk that I’ve seen to debunk that argument. On another note, I’m totally anticipating the first couple of rehearsal packages with Heather messing up steps because she’s trying to do them the contemporary/jazz way instead of the ballroom way just to prove she doesn’t have the unfair advantage she clearly has.
@Jana I’m not quite following your reasoning. First of all, Heather is a professional dancer. Normani is not. Yes, she does dance sometimes while doing her profession, but her profession is singing. A professional dancer and a professional singer who dances at her concerts and in her music videos are not at all the same. Additionally, “canceling each other out” is irrelevant. If they got two professional dancers on the show as contestants, that would not make it okay. That would be like saying it’s cool if the producer’s add additional votes to Rashad’s total for the first week, just as long as they also do so for Nick. There are certain things that constitute an unfair advantage, even if more than one contestant has that unfair advantage.
It is clear that Heather has a huge advantage over the others due to the fact that she IS a professional dancer and there is no way to deny or hide that. However, I am not bothered by it because: At least we know one couple will give us a great show for sure and second, it won’t necessarily translate into votes. So, Heather might have the dancing advantage but I wouldn’t sweat it too much because at the end of the day it is a combination of the best dancer and the one that connected the most with the public. So, why don’t we embrace Heather for what she’s here to do? She’s not going to be the one that progresses every week. She’s going to be the one with the great moves. Just like Simone will bring her gymnastics. At the end of the day this is still a show and people need to be entertained. If you don’t find her participation fair, don’t vote for her and she won’t win, but she shouldn’t be minimalized.
Ruben, please don’t tell anyone what we/they should do. We will decide who to embrace and who not to.
Normani is a trained dancer since she was little. She’s been dancing all her life. She’s also done gymnastics. I think the only thing she lacks is personality. Simone and Sasha will have a way better personality and charisma to top the pimpage of Val and Normani.
Really liking Emma & Rashad and Sasha & Simone!!! Also like Lindsay & David and Witney & Chris!
It really bothers me that they said Maks and Peta (who were already announced) and Val (who never left) were coming back, yet didn’t mention KYM COMING BACK
Actually pretty excited for this season, the dancing should be great, a lot of FUN personalities
Not too happy, will always miss Derek and Mark! Looks like they’ve given Maks yet another ringer!! PETA won one, now perhaps Maks needs a second Mirror Ball! As the daughter of Ballroom dance teachers, I guess I’m seeing this season through that prism. I’ve always adored DWTS, but the “love affair” may diminish during this season. Kinda sad ☹️
Finally……Emma gets a real contender, and a football player at that!
The pairings I’m looking forward to the most this season:
Rashad Jennings and Emma – Beyond excited Emma gets an NFL player. And he’s charming and funny & can move. I hope she goes far.
Lindsay and David Ross- (Go Cubbies!)
Sasha and Simone – Very excited to see this pairing. I have no clue who Maks’ pro dancer partner is so I don’t find her threatening at all. But Simone & Sasha, look out!
Bonner and Sharna – He’s a cutie and they look good together. Can’t wait to see what she can do with him. I have no idea if he’s a dud in dance or will be a real surprise. hoping for the latter. Love having a cowboy on.
And I just love Charo! I especially love the reactions to her from the foreign pros (Keo, Artem, Gleb…everyone) who seemed shocked and amused at her behavior. She still has it after all these decades. Cuchi cuchi!
Will miss Mark though he’s got other great opportunities. Looking forward to Sasha and Emma and their partners. Not sure about Sharna’s chances. Love Mr. T (Kym!), Nancy Kerrigan, Erika Jane, and David Ross (go Cub nation!) Keo and Witney have their hands full with Charo and Chris!
Honestly the only couples that spark any interest in me are Simone&Sasha and Rashad&Emma. I don’t know if that’s enough to get me to watch.
Val gets a young, fit partner with performing experience, Maks gets a big ringer, yada, yada, yada. Same crap, different season. I’m sorry guys, I hate to sound like such a Debbie Downer.
Just got to watch the GMA cast announcements on YouTube-as a side note, jeez the pimpage of Maks and Val started from the friggin opening pro dance?! That’s gotta be an open for the whole season ?????
At any rate, absolutely thrilled Sasha and Simone are paired up-they could most definitely give Maks and Heather competition.
Artem and Nancy might not do too shabby either-I just hope Artem can reel in his arrogance and realize that she’s got great potential.
Emma and Rashad look like they’ll have fun and they produce some good dancing! Looks promising!
Lindsay and David look like fun too but she might have to get him to loosen his hips lol
Keo and Charo look like they’re gonna be a blast!! She’s hysterical and I kinda think she’s rock anything Latin for sure:)
Kym and Mr. T look like they already get along pretty well. He already has my vote after watching that other video with him no matter how he dances:)
Witney and Chris-not gonna lie-worry me a bit-I have a feeling just looking at the little moves he did lol kinda showed how much he may struggle and something tells me his humor is gonna get on her nerves-I might be jumping the gun-let me give them the benefit of the doubt.
Sharna and Bonner look HOT together-truly they do but he looks a bit stiff and shy-she’s gonna have to get him to come out of his shell but if anybody can do it it’s Sharna.
Val and Normani-hmmmm yeah she has dance experience and she’s an entertainer but honestly, I just don’t see the chemistry with them as dance partners-can’t pinpoint why exactly-to me this girl, as young as she is, has a bit of an attitude and an arrogance about her and it’s interesting b/c he’s had even younger partners and they didn’t have that air about them ? Also, I have a feeling he’s gonna have a hard time dealing with the whole traveling aspect with her, not that it’s an excuse cause it isn’t-he’s gotta still bring it every week through the dancing-no excuses! I don’t think it’s gonna work lol We’ll see…
Gleb and Erika-so she’s a real housewife AND and sexpot singer/dancer? SMDH I’m not quite sure how much potential she’s got based on some of her videos but he might have scored some luck-might, not sure-that’s if he keeps it classy and not trashy….
And I guess no Peta and Nick b/c his show is still airing? Oh well, don’t quite know what to say about them yet so guess I’ll wait for the first show date!
Ugh meant to say “omen” for the whole season (spelling sucks typing fast) ???
If they had paired Val with Charo, THAT would be a couple I’d be excited to see and make sure I tuned in for.
Gonna miss Mark Ballas terribly this season:(((((
I’m thinking personalities may be more important than ever this season. A good work ethic, willingness to learn, and a relaxed partnership will go far. Because of that, I suspect some personality clashes between the bros. and their partners as well as Artem and Nancy. The David-Lindsay, Sasha-Simone, and Emma-Rashad partnerships should do very well because I think they will find a lot of fun along the way. Also, those three celebs have a winning history. Of course, producer pimpage and manipulation will probably override a legitimate flow of events. I am also a little concerned that Simone may not be terribly lyrical and will be all power and less grace- and I say that as a Simone fan. Really routing for David and Lindsay- he’s a very likeable guy.
I think even though Heather may be a good dancer with her technique, something tells me she will fall the way Corbin did with him being a good dancer but having 0 personality whereas I think with Simone and what I’ve seen with Rashad, they may have 1) bigger fanbases and 2) more personality plus having the ability to dance and partners who can come up with great choreography compared to what we’ve seen with Maks.
Have you ever watched this show before, Ruben?? A) Maks is not a choreographer known for “giving a great show” unless he can appeal to shippers; B) You completely ignore the fact that there is massive manipulation on this show that impacts the audience.
Finally, don’t preach to other posters what they should and shouldn’t do.
@Carla: “Val and Maks only skate by through major pimpage or ringers.”
TPTB: “Why not both?”
Fans: “Why not neither?”
There seems to be a template that they follow on the show when it comes to pairing the couples up. Val gets young, fit, partners with performance experience, Tony/Artem get the middle aged celebrity, Emma gets the older, non dancer male, and so on. Certain pros are pimped, while other pros get hosed.
The problem with following the template so religiously season after season is that the audience starts to feel fatigue after a while. Why tune in for the same expected thing every season.
Some of my favorite couples on the show were unexpected pairings. Peta, who was portrayed as this sexy femme dancer in skimpy clothes who was always partnered with young, hot guys, got Tommy Chong as a partner. That partnership tested her abilities as a teacher and a pro and showed us her kind, patient and emotionally vulnerable side.
THAT’S the kind of unexpected partnership that creates excitement and magic. More of that and less of a “shampoo, rinse, repeat” couple casting.
Thank goodness that Emma finally got the NFL contestant. Let’s hope he follows in the footsteps of past NFL guys who do well on the show.
Lol, Sam! Exactly!
Ha, so I’m not alone in thinking that even though Heather is a pro dancer, that this may not be in the bag for her. One of the commenters mentioned having a personality that appeals to the audience is also a huge plus, which is very true. James was a great example of that. Saw a few “Who is that?” posts about him too, but he won the crowd over with his charm.
Of course, we can never forget the serious amount of pimpage this season, and if Heather wins, well…unless she has a bangin’ personality, then we all know why she’d win in the first place. Sad.
Susan2, I couldn’t agree more. When I think Peta’s partnerships, I don’t think Donald Driver…I think Tommy Chong. That was great. Amy Purdy seriously challenged Derek and is one of my favorites. Maks and Kirsti Alley…he did well with her and was likable. Emma with Bill.
A challenge is good, and if the partnership chemistry is really good too, the audience will vote for it.
Didn’t expect to watch anything this season with all the fam hype by ABC, but there are several couples I’m already liking. Am thrilled for Sasha and Emma, and Charo had me laughing out loud during that GMA segment,
I saw that Heather already proclaimed in the (ET?) interview that she has no advantage so I’m pretty sure that she will be working overtime to sell that idea. I can understand that Glee appears to still have a significant following so they want those viewers, but If they I really had to go there they should have given her to a less well established pro like Gleb or Keo.
I wouldn’t mind so much Maks getting pro dancer if they would at the same time give Lindsay Alex Wong and Emma Danny Tidwell…there are plenty of sytycd alumni around, why not give everyone a trained partner and see how they do. Oh, wait…
@Rose1 Oh yeah, I have a feeling they will sell the crap out of that, even though we ALL know that it isn’t true. Yeah she may show some “struggles” for the camera but once the competition heats up, we’ll start seeing what we all already know: her capabilities as a dancer. Then we’ll REALLY see how unfair it was and how big of an advantage she has in the first place. Hell, even the media was questioning her involvement because of the fact that she’s pro.
On another note, I am so looking forward to the other couples. Can’t wait to see what Sasha and Emma come up with. I just saw Bonner’s most recent IG and it is so stinkin’ cute. I’m sure he will give it his all, and Sharna is the best partner to bring it out of him. They are seriously SO cute!
My wife and I have followed Lindsay’s career since she performed that fantastic paso doble on SYTYCD. Her growth as a performer and choreographer over the years has been very interesting and entertaining, and she is known as a hard worker and is demonstrably a very good teacher. Pairing her with her third athlete and the first MLB player that we can remember on the show should be interesting.
David Ross is a hard worker – you don’t play into the late thirties in MLB with it’s grinding 162 games per season plus playoffs without being that way. A sense of rhythm he should have, it’s hard to play baseball without it, especially hitting a ball coming to you at 95 miles an hour. Hopefully he will have some musicality also!
It should be an interesting pairing, and it would be great for him to go from a World Series win to the two of them winning the mirrorball!
I’m already predicting Heather & Maks to go far in this competition, because season 17 taught me to never underestimate the Glee fanbase, with Amber Riley beating out the more experienced celebs Corbin Bleu and Elizabeth Berkeley. And to whoever cited Elisabetta Canalis as proof that Val got a dud partner, that was not the case there. The real issue there was Val being an unknown pro + Elisabetta being an unknown celebrity, because Elisabetta was not the female dud of the season…that was Tristan and Maks who got stuck with the worst female partners that season. But yeah, Maks did have his fair share of the dud celebs (Debi Mazar, Denise Richards, and Hope Solo come to mind, as well as several others). Honestly, the only times I remember him getting an actual ringer prior to this were with Mel B, where he messed it up by horrible freestyle choreography, and Meryl, where he won. Not surprised Tony and Karina are once again sitting out the season, because if we’re talking bad partnerships, those two kept on getting more zeroes than heroes as far as the celeb talent went, and with Karina, even when she got the talent, production still somewhat hosed her by giving her those celebs that were generally seen as cocky/arrogant.
Hope Solo ended up 3rd in her season, didn’t she? So I don’t think Maks got hosed with that partnership. Didn’t he petition to GET her as a partner??
Val is the one who gets ringer after ringer after ringer. AND HOW IN THE HELL can they justify Heather Morris as a Celeb non-dancer? She’s a pro on the level of Jenna and Hayley! SMH…..
Yet if Derek had danced with Debi, she would have been labeled a ringer because of her club dancing days, Gabriela. Just sayin’. 🙂 Tia, Mel B, Brandy, Erin, Meryl and now Heather – all ringers of some degree…but nowhere close to the number his brother has had, despite being on a lot longer.
You talk about duds though – the Maks fans were ECSTATIC when he got Denise, it was hilarious. Derek had won with Brooke and so they looked at Denise and assumed she was the same as Brooke. And she was, on paper. Just goes to show that when people don’t audition to be on a show, you just never know. Sometimes you have to work harder than you might expect.
KellyK, you have to remember how that season went down. It was one of the more slanted seasons in the early years – the judges overscored Hope for weeks (IMO, at the direction of the producers) to keep her around because she was providing a TON of drama. Then they did the “let’s get real” portion of the competition where they started scoring her fairly – which made Hope and Maks both very angry. I can’t say I blame them – you get scores you don’t deserve for weeks and suddenly you start taking hits? Not cool. I’m trying to remember if there’s been a season that blatantly awful since then – maybe Courtney remembers.
Amber won because people loved her personality and story, and she was given dances that suited her abilities. And yes, she had Derek, who she had obviously requested. She came in with a great attitude, had some natural ability, and worked really hard. I had never watched Glee, and yet I loved her on the show. She was very relatable.
Amber also didn’t have to compete against a popular olympic athlete.
Well, since Heather is the biggest ringer to ever be on the show, Simone is called “leveling the playing field” – at least for the women.
I loved Amber. She had her challenging times and dances. She also had a gift of memorizing Derek’s moves in videos that he’d send her when she couldn’t rehearse due to some of the injuries she had. She was so tough and worked so hard. To this day, she’s one of my favorites.